Become a Bay Shore Studies Docent

Learn how to lead small groups of 3rd through 6th graders on their best field trip ever.

Become a Bay Shore Studies Volunteer Docent at the Richardson Bay Audubon Center in Tiburon.

For more information about our Bay Shore Studies program call Sandy at (415)-345-1145 or email AudubonBSS@gmail.com.

Bay Shore Studies FAQ

Q. What is the Bay Shore Studies program?

A. It's an all-volunteer program at the Richardson Bay Audubon Center. We take school children on science field trips on the beach.

We find crabs, mussels, algae, barnacles, and we discuss how they each have a role in the ecology of the Bay. We also do experiments. The kids really love it. They tell us we give them "their best field trip ever."

Q. What makes it so good?

A. We make learning fun. It's a very hands-on, get-your-feet-muddy experience. Many kids have never touched a marine invertebrate, or even been on a beach before. By the end of our field trips, we have them finding crabs, holding them and telling the boys from the girls. We also have created a lot of fun concepts to get serious science across. We explore the importance of food availability in the water column by talking about "Sea Soup." We do experiments on salinity that we call "the Bay Parfait." We also make sure our curriculum meets California State Standards. And that's important to the teachers who bring their classes to us.

Q. What kind of person would like to become a Bay Shore Studies volunteer?

A. Our people tend to love kids and San Francisco Bay and they're concerned about the health of the Bay and want to teach kids positive ways to help.

Q. Do you offer a training class for new volunteers?

A.Yes, a one-morning-a-week training class runs for nine session in the winter.

Q. What kind of schools participate in your field trips?

A. Our classes are mostly fourth and fifth graders (sometimes sixth graders). They come from as far away as Oakland and San Francisco, Marin, of course, and occasionally Sonoma. All kinds of schools.

We especially encourage participation of inner-city schools, because we've found many of these children have not had an opportunity to experience the Bay and learn what they can do to keep it strong and healthy.

That's our goal for all our kids: to open their eyes to the importance of the Bay and show them things they can do or not do to help the quality of the Bay